The Las Vegas Raiders have had a productive offseason, adding a number of talented players to the organization through free agency and the draft.
A big focus in free agency was improving the defense as the Raiders completely overhauled that side of the ball, signing linebackers Cory Littleton and Nick Kwiatkoski, cornerback Prince Amukamara, safety Damarious Randall, defensive end Carl Nassib and defensive tackle Maliek Collins, among others.
The team had around $58 million in cap space at their disposal and used a majority of it to improve the defense after a subpar year in 2019. While there isn’t really any cap space left, it appears the Raiders may not be done trying to improve.
According to Cecil Lammey of Footballguys.com, the Raiders have made an offer to the best free agent left on the market in Jadeveon Clowney:
Team sources tell me #Raiders have extended an offer to Jadeveon Clowney. 2 or 3 other teams have better offers. Jon Gruden REALLY wants him but Davis/Mayock are standing pat (for now) Gruden would like to up the offer. Interesting for #Broncos if JC winds up in AFCW @1043TheFan
— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) July 6, 2020
If the Raiders were to seriously make a run at Clowney they would need to clear some cap space either by releasing some players or restructuring some contracts by converting salaries into signing bonuses.
Clowney has been patiently waiting for a team to offer him the contract he believes he’s worth, although that has not yet come this offseason. The Seattle Seahawks haven’t shown a ton of interest in re-signing him, and with so many other teams already out of cap space, the pricetag to sign Clowney may be coming down by the day.
While there’s no denying a former No. 1 overall pick could help the Raiders’ defense, he would be taking playing time away from the team’s two young defensive ends in Maxx Crosby and Clelin Ferrell.
It’s not surprising to see Gruden enamored with Clowney though, so it will be interesting to see if he gets what he wants or if the Raiders pass and watch him sign elsewhere.
